by Nate Ryan, USA TODAY Sports

by Nate Ryan, USA TODAY Sports

Turner Motorsports is losing a sponsor but apparently could be gaining a driver who should attract plenty of interest from the companies that help fuel NASCAR team budgets.

ESPNW.com reported Wednesday morning that Danica Patrick will drive 10 Nationwide Series races for Turner in 2013, starting with the Feb. 23 season opener at Daytona International Speedway. In the Daytona 500 the following day, Patrick will begin her first full-time season in the Sprint Cup Series, driving the No. 10 Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing.

An official close to Patrick with direct knowledge of the talks told USA TODAY Sports a deal was expected to be completed pending sponsorship. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because a deal with Turner wasn't yet finalized.

Patrick left the Izod IndyCar Series last year for a full-time move into NASCAR, finishing 10th in the Nationwide standings with JR Motorsports.

The team co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced Wednesday that Great Clips signed as a 28-race primary sponsor, mostly backing drivers Kasey Kahne and Brad Sweet.

Great Clips had sponsored the No. 38 Chevrolet of Turner Motorsports the past two seasons. The team said it soon would be announcing plans for 2013 but didn't confirm Patrick nor a replacement sponsor.

With the addition of Great Clips, JRM is closer to its goal of running two full-time teams this year.

It will field Regan Smith for the championship in the No. 7 Chevrolet and is working on finding sponsorship for six races on the No. 5 shared by Kahne and Sweet, who will drive a Great Clips-sponsored car in 27 of 33 races. Great Clips will sponsor one race with Earnhardt, who will drive a partial Nationwide schedule of at least four events starting with Daytona.

"The last three months have been critical for the direction of JR Motorsports and the commitment we've made, and this partnership with Great Clips is a major step in the right direction," JRM general manager Kelley Earnhardt Miller said. "To sign a 28-race sponsor while adding Kasey Kahne and Brad Sweet to our line-up is quite extraordinary. Our goal is still to run two full-time teams, and this helps us greatly to achieve that."

Kahne, who is Earnhardt's Hendrick Motorsports teammate, has driven select Nationwide races since 2009 for Great Clips, which also has supported the driver's charity events and his Kasey Kahne Racing sprint car teams.

JRM hasn't determined the Nationwide schedule for Kahne and Sweet, as well as Earnhardt's slate. NASCAR's most popular driver currently is confirmed to run Daytona and the March 9 race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in a TaxSlayer.com-sponsored Chevrolet.